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Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Review: Daisy's Back in Town, by Rachel Gibson

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Daisy Lee Monroe thought she'd brushed the dust of Lovett, Texas, off her
high-heeled shoes years ago, but she's come back home only to find that little
has changed. Her sister is still crazy, and her mom still has pink plastic
flamingos in her front yard. And Jackson Lamott Parrish, the bad boy she'd left
behind, is still so sexy it hurts. She'd like nothing better than to avoid this
particular man, but she can't. Daisy has something to say to Jackson, and she's
not going anywhere until he listens.

Jackson learned his lesson about Daisy the hard way, and now the only word
he's interested in hearing from Daisy's red lips is good-bye. But she's popping
up everywhere, and he doesn't believe in coincidence. It seems the only way to
keep her quiet is with his mouth, but kissing Daisy had once been his downfall.
Is he strong enough to resist her now? Strong enough to watch her walk out of
his life again? Is he strong enough to make her stay?

Genre:contemporary romance

Publishing date: March 2012

Offensive content: one sex scene, not too graphic and a few hot kisses

Review:

Rachel Gibson is one of those authors I turn to when I want something to cheer me up. It's like eating a bar of chocolate but without the calories. There are very few books by Ms. Gibson that I haven't read so far (one day I'll post reviews about all of them) and Daisy's Back in Town was one of them until recently (even if it was already published a few years ago). Well, I'm glad I corrected that.

I have never lived in a small town myself, but I have childhood memories of spending the summers with my grandparents the small village where my grandfather was born, and the setting was somewhat similar. Thirty seconds after you parked your car, everyone in a 5-mile radius already knew you were there and what you were wearing right down to your underwear. In Lovett, Texas, the same thing happens, so when Daisy shows up after staying well away for fifteen years, "Have you seen Daisy Lee yet?" is the question most heard around town.

Well, fifteen years ago Daisy, Jack and Steven were the best of friends. Then Daisy and Jack became more than friends, she ended up pregnant and Steven married her instead. Daisy and Steven moved away and she never had the chance to tell Jack he had a son. Fast forward to present day: Daisy is now a widow and has decided enough time has elapsed and she needs to let Jack know about Nathan. Which is not an easy feat, since Jack is hellbent on avoiding her at all costs.

The first part of the book is classical Rachel Gibson, with lots of passages that will make you laugh out loud, from the small town dynamics, to Daisy's sister psychotic relationship with her soon-to-be-ex-husband and their mother's crazy decor ideas. Not to forget all the "Have you seen Daisy Lee yet?" questions that make Jack want to pull his hair out by the handfuls.

The second part, although written in the same easy flowing text, is a bit more serious, focused on the tentative relationship between Jack with the son he never knew he had before, and with Jack and Daisy fighting to overcome all the bitter memories of the past in order to start over and have a future.

So, in a way, this book has a lot more substance than just the average romance story and teaches us a lesson on learning to let go and not letting past mistakes preventing us from living the rest of your life. Overall, a great summer read!